LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbthird conjugation, suppletive

dēferō

dēferō (present infinitive dēferre, perfect active dētulī, supine dēlātum)
Classical[ˈdeː.fɛ.roː]Ecclesiastical[ˈdɛː.fe.ro]
№ 805 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. suppletiveto bear, carry or bring down or away; convey; take, remove
  2. suppletiveto bring to market, sell
  3. suppletiveto give to someone, grant, confer upon, allot, offer to someone, bestow
  4. suppletiveto transfer, deliver
  5. suppletiveto bring or give an account of, deliver or bear news or information, report, announce, state
    [...] Eadem impia Fāma furentīAnd at the same time, with [Dido already] distraught, accursed Rumor reported [that the Trojans] were equipping their fleet and preparing for a voyage. (See: fama.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.298–299
    [...] adloquere, et celerīs dēfer mea dicta per aurās.[Jupiter to Mercury: Go to Aeneas,] “to speak [to him], and deliver my orders through the swift winds.”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.226
  6. suppletiveto report someone's name before the praetor, as plaintiff or informer; indict, impeach, denounce, accuse
  7. suppletiveto arrive or disembark

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

ad aliquem portō et dō; mīles signum captum ad ducem dēfert.
dēferō -ferre -tulī — in Mille Verba, Castra in Aegyptō
trādō, nūntiō
carry down; report
dēferō -ferre, -tulī — in De Bello Gallico II, ch. 2, 5

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Arguere · Incusare · Culpare · Criminari · Insimulare · Deferre · Accusare

Arguere (from ἀργός) is the most general expression for any imputation of supposed or actual guilt, whether in a court of justice or not, as to tax or charge with; incusare, and the less frequent term culpare, denote only a complaint made out of a court of justice; criminari, an accusation with hostile or evil intention, in a calumnious spirit; insimulare, in an undeserved or slanderous manner, through suspicion; deferre, to impeach before a judge; accusare, to impeach in a criminal court. Cic. Lig. 4, 10. Arguis fatentem. Non est satis. Accusas eum. (ii. 163.)

Conjugation conjugation 3

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.dēferōdēferēbamdēferamdētulīdētuleramdētulerō
2nd sg.dēfersdēferēbāsdēferēsdētulistīdētulerāsdētuleris
3rd sg.dēfertdēferēbatdēferetdētulitdētuleratdētulerit
1st pl.dēferimusdēferēbāmusdēferēmusdētulimusdētulerāmusdētulerimus
2nd pl.dēfertisdēferēbātisdēferētisdētulistisdētulerātisdētuleritis
3rd pl.dēferuntdēferēbantdēferentdētulērunt
dētulēre		dētulerantdētulerint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.dēferamdēferremdētulerimdētulissem
2nd sg.dēferāsdēferrēsdētulerīsdētulissēs
3rd sg.dēferatdēferretdētuleritdētulisset
1st pl.dēferāmusdēferrēmusdētulerīmusdētulissēmus
2nd pl.dēferātisdēferrētisdētulerītisdētulissētis
3rd pl.dēferantdēferrentdētulerintdētulissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.dēferordēferēbardēferar
2nd sg.dēferris
dēferre		dēferēbāris
dēferēbāre		dēferēris
dēferēre
3rd sg.dēferturdēferēbāturdēferētur
1st pl.dēferimurdēferēbāmurdēferēmur
2nd pl.dēferiminīdēferēbāminīdēferēminī
3rd pl.dēferunturdēferēbanturdēferentur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.dēferardēferrer
2nd sg.dēferāris
dēferāre		dēferrēris
dēferrēre
3rd sg.dēferāturdēferrētur
1st pl.dēferāmurdēferrēmur
2nd pl.dēferāminīdēferrēminī
3rd pl.dēferanturdēferrentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.dēferdēferre
pres. 2nd pl.dēfertedēferiminī
fut. 2nd sg.dēfertōdēfertor
fut. 3rd sg.dēfertōdēfertor
fut. 2nd pl.dēfertōte—
fut. 3rd pl.dēferuntōdēferuntor
infinitives & participles
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivedēferredēferrī
perfect infinitivedētulissedēlātum esse
future infinitivedēlātūrum essedēlātum īrī
present participledēferēns
dēferente, dēferentem, dēferentēs, dēferentī, dēferentia, dēferentibus, dēferentis, dēferentīs, dēferentium		—
perfect participle—dēlātus
dēlāta, dēlātā, dēlātae, dēlātam, dēlātārum, dēlātās, dēlāte, dēlātī, dēlātīs, dēlātō, dēlātōrum, dēlātōs
future participledēlātūrus
dēlātūra, dēlātūrā, dēlātūrae, dēlātūram, dēlātūrārum, dēlātūrās, dēlātūre, dēlātūrī, dēlātūrīs, dēlātūrō, dēlātūrōrum, dēlātūrōs, dēlātūrum		dēferendus
dēferundus, dēferenda, dēferendā, dēferendae, dēferendam, dēferendārum, dēferendās, dēferende, dēferendīs, dēferendōrum, dēferendōs
gerunddēferendī, dēferendō, dēferendumsupinedēlātum, dēlātū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

deferri, deici aliquo
to be driven out of one's course; to drift.
rem ad consilium deferre
to refer a matter to a council of war.
palmam deferre, dare alicui
to award the prize to...
negotium ad aliquem deferre
to entrust a matter to a person; to commission.
alicui regnum deferre, tradere
to invest some one with royal power.
honores alicui mandare, deferre
to invest a person with a position of dignity.
praecipitem ire; in praeceps deferri
to fall down headlong.
imperium, rerum summam deferre alicui
to confer supreme power on a person.
4 more phrases
nomen alicuius deferre (apud praetorem) (Verr. 2. 38. 94)
to accuse, denounce a person.
imperii summam deferre alicui or ad aliquem, tradere alicui
to appoint some one commander-in-chief.
primas (e.g. sapientiae) alicui deferre, tribuere, concedere
to give the palm, the first place (for wisdom) to some one.
procella (tempestas) aliquem ex alto ad ignotas terras (oras) defert
the storm drives some one on an unknown coast.

dē-fĕro, tŭli, lātum, ferre,
I. v. a., to bear or bring away a thing from a place; to bear, carry, bring down.
I. Lit.
A. In gen.
1. Without stating the terminus (not very freq.): roseam Auroram per oras Aetheris, Lucr. 5, 656; 5, 273; 6, 639: Rhodanus amnis segnem deferens Ararim, Plin. 3, 4, 5, § 33; 6, 27, 31, § 136; Ov. M. 9, 117; ex Helicone coronam, Lucr. 1, 119: ramalia arida tecto, Ov. M. 8, 646. —Absol.: flumina liquida ac deferentia, Plin. Pan. 82 med.—Far more freq.,
2. Indicating the terminus (by ad, in, an adv. of place, the dat., etc.): literas ad Caesarem, Caes. B. G. 5, 45, 3: epistolam ad Ciceronem, id. ib. 5, 48, 3 and 8; cf.: mandata ad aliquem, id. B. C. 1, 9; 3, 22: aurum ad gnatum suum, Plaut. Trin. 4, 2, 115; cf. id. Truc. 2, 5, 64; Ter. Heaut. 4, 6, 18; natos ad flumina, Verg. A. 9, 604: Germani ad castra Romanorum delati, Caes. B. G. 6, 42 fin. et saep.: semen quod ex arbore per surculos defertur in terram, Varr. R. R. 1, 40, 4: aurum et omnia ornamenta sua in aerarium, Liv. 5, 25: aedes in planum et colli subicere, id. 2, 7: cf. Cic. Rep. 2, 31: ferrum in pectus, Tac. A. 1, 35: castra in viam, Liv. 22, 15: aciem in campos, id. 9, 37: in praeceps deferri, id. 5, 47; cf. id. 44, 5; Quint. 1, 12, 10: praeceps in undas deferar, Verg. E. 8, 60; Ov. F. 6, 228: in vicum, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 269 et saep.: hunc sub aequora, i. e. submerge, Ov. M. 14, 601: quasdam (virgines) ex plebe homines domos deferebant, Liv. 1, 9: si forte eo (sc. Demetriadem) deferret fuga regem, id. 36, 20: quo pennis delata sit ales, Lucr. 6, 822: cum pallam mihi Detulisti, Plaut. Men. 2, 3, 42; so, epistolas alicui, id. Trin. 4, 2, 109 et saep.
B. In partic.
1. Naut. t. t., to drive away, drive down, drive a ship, or those on board a ship, to any place: onerariae duae paullo infra delatae sunt, Caes. B. G. 4, 36 fin.; id. B. C. 3, 30: una (navis) delata Oricum, id. ib. 3, 14, 2: (Labienus) longius delatus aestu, etc., id. B. G. 5, 8, 2: quem cum ex alto ignotas ad terras tempestas et in desertum litus detulisset, Cic. Rep. 1, 17 fin.; cf. id. Ac. 2, 3, 8.—
b. Rarely in gen., to bring, convey to any place (as a ship, its passengers): e portu navis huc nos dormientes detulit, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 69.—
2. Mercant. t. t., to bring to market, to sell (post-Aug.): nexos maniplos, Col. 10, 315: pallium. Petr. 12, 2: videamus hoc, quod concupiscimus, quanti deferatur, Sen. Ep. 42.
II. Trop.
A. In gen., to bring: redde harmoniaī Nomen, ab organicis alto delatum Heliconi, brought, Lucr. 3, 133; 5, 65: (Alexander) eadem fortunae pignora in discrimen detulisset, Liv. 9, 18 fin.; cf.: fabulas in certamen, Quint. 10, 1, 66: hac re ad consilium delata, having been taken into consideration, Caes. B. G. 3, 23 fin.; so, rem ad consilium, id. ib. 5, 28, 2: qui ad agendum nihil cogitati detulerit, Quint. 4, 5, 2: (poëta) si foret hoc nostrum delatus in aevum, Detereret sibi multa, Hor. S. 1, 10, 68. —
B. With particular accessory notions.
1. To bring, give to one, grant, confer upon, allot, to offer to any one, transfer, deliver (for syn. v. do—very freq.).
(a). Aliquid ad aliquem: ad hunc totius belli summam omnium voluntate deferri, Caes. B. G. 2, 4, 7: imperium ad aliquem, id. ib. 6, 2; 7, 4, 6; Cic. Leg. 3, 2; id. Lig. 1, 3: omnem rem ad Pompeium, id. Fam. 1, 1; cf.: omnia ad unum, id. de Imp. Pomp. 23, 67: causam ad Galbam, id. Brut. 22, 86: primas ad aliquem, id. N. D. 1, 6, 15 et saep.—
(b). Aliquid alicui: sibi a Caesare regnum civitatis deferri, Caes. B. G. 5, 6, 2; Fasti ap. Cic. Phil. 2, 34, 87; cf.: regnum et diadema uni, Hor. Od. 2, 2, 22: fasces indigno, id. Ep. 1, 16, 34: praemium dignitatis alicui (opp. denegare), Cic. Fl. 1: ultro ei legationem (opp. denegare), id. Fam. 13, 55; cf. id. ib. 4, 13: palmam alicujus rei Crasso, id. de Or. 2, 56; cf. Liv. 7, 13; Quint. 10, 1, 53: omnem ei auctoritatem, Cic. Fl. 6, 14: pacem hostibus, Liv. 23, 13: Octaviam neptem condicionem, Suet. Caes. 27 et saep. —
(g). With acc. alone, or absol.: jusjurandum, to tender an oath, Quint. 5, 6, 6; cf. ib. § 3 and § 4; si quid petet, ultro defer, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 23 et saep.—
2. To bring or give an account of, to report, announce, signify, state (for syn. v. declaro init.— very freq.): qui nostra consilia ad adversarios deferat, Cic. Clu. 52; so, aliquid ad aliquem, id. Mil. 9 fin.; id. Cat. 3, 3, 7; Caes. B. G. 2, 17, 4; 5, 25, 4 et saep.: ut (haec) per eos ad Caesarem deferrentur, id. ib. 7, 17 fin.; so with per, id. B. C. 3, 30, 6; 3, 63, 5 al.: qui ad Caesarem detulerint delaturive sint, me poenitere consilii mei, Cic. Att. 11, 7, 5; so with acc. and inf., Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 62; Verg. A. 4, 299 al.—
b. Legal t. t.: nomen, and post-Aug., aliquem, to indict, impeach, accuse before the pretor, as plaintiff or informer (for syn. cf.: denuntio, indico): nomen alicujus de parricidio, Cic. Rosc. Am. 10, 28: nomen amici mei de ambitu, id. Cael. 31, 76; id. Rosc. Am. 23; nomen suo familiari (dat.) eadem de re, id. ib. 23: nomen tibi, id. Pis. 33, 82; cf.: illi nonnihil tamen in deferendo nomine secuti, id. Rosc. Am. 3, 8: ad deferendos reos praemio duci, Quint. 12, 7, 3: reos ad praetorem, Tac. A. 14, 41: reos ejusdem criminis detulerunt, Quint. 11, 1, 79; cf.: defertur majestatis, Tac. A. 14, 48 (v. Draeger ad loc.): adulterii, id. ib. 4, 42: impietatis in principem, id. ib. 6, 47: Drusus defertur moliri res novas, id. ib. 2, 27; cf.: defertur simulavisse partum, ib. 3, 22: ad deferenda de Perseo crimina, Liv. 42, 11; cf. Quint. 4, 2, 98; cf. also: et cum occiderentur, detuli sententiam, voted to condemn, Vulg. Act. 26, 10. —Absol.: et minari et deferre etiam non orator potest, Quint. 4, 1, 22.—Of denouncing: quae apud vos de me deferunt, Cic. Agr. 3, 1.—
c. Pub. law t. t.
(a). Aliquid ad aerarium, and more freq. simply aliquid, to give in at the Aerarium: horum nomina ad aerarium detulisset, Cic. Phil. 5, 5 fin.: quamquam rationes deferre properarim (for which referre is repeatedly used just before), Cic. Fam. 5, 20, 3.—Hence of persons, to recommend them for future consideration and reward, for their services to the state: in beneficiis ad aerarium delatus est, Cic. Arch. 5 fin.; id. Fam. 5, 20, 7; id. Balb. 28; id. Att. 5, 7: senatus consultum factum ad aerarium deferre, the public archives, Liv. 39, 4, 8; Tac. A. 3, 51; 13, 28; Suet. Aug. 94, 3.—
(b). Deferre in censum, to report any thing for assessment, to return one's property to the censors: mille quingentum aeris in censum, Gell. 16, 10, 10; for which, deferre censum, Plin. 7, 48, 49, § 159; Tac. A. 6, 41.—Pass. in mid. force: deferri in censum, to report one's self for assessment, Eutr. 1, 7.—
3. To ascribe, Amm. 14, 6, 8.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindēferō

Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti Proto-Italic *ferō Latin ferō Latin dēferō From dē- (“from, away from”) + ferō (“bear, carry; suffer”).

Descendants
  • Catalandeferir
  • Catalandelatar
  • Englishdefer
  • Englishdelate
  • Frenchdéférer
  • Italiandeferire
  • Portuguesedeferir
  • Romaniandeferi
  • Spanishdeferir
  • Spanishdelatar

In English words that came into English from dēferō

  • deferdēferō
  • deferentdeferens
  • delatordēlātor

Quick answers

What does dēferō mean in Latin?
dēferō, a verb, means “to bear, carry or bring down or away; convey; take, remove”.
What are the principal parts of dēferō?
dēferō, dēferre, dētulī, dēlātum (third conjugation, suppletive).
How do you pronounce dēferō?
In classical Latin, [ˈdeː.fɛ.roː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈdɛː.fe.ro].
Where does dēferō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *de → Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ → Proto-Italic *dē → Latin dēferō.
Which English words come from dēferō?
English words that go back to Latin dēferō include defer, deferent and delator.